Far-left green activists ‘surround’ Joe Manchin event in New Hampshire just weeks after White House invite

A far-left climate protest organization that was recently granted a private White House meeting said Friday that it had surrounded Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in New Hampshire in an effort to confront him over energy and climate policy.

Climate Defiance — a Washington, D.C.-based group known for its high-profile disruptive protests targeting politicians — said its members had cornered Manchin, forcing him to hide in an “old” building in Goffstown, New Hampshire. The group’s actions came shortly after the Democratic senator addressed the New Hampshire Institute of Politics’ “Politics & Eggs” forum which is often attended by presidential candidates.

“We are *swarming* Joe Manchin’s presidential forum in New Hampshire,” Climate Defiance said in an X post Friday morning. “This man is a murderer. The blood of thousands is encrusted on his hands. As we write he cowers behind lines of armed cops, afraid and humiliated.”

“As we write, Joe Manchin is hiding from us in an old, red brick building in Goffstown, New Hampshire,” the group added an hour later. “We have surrounded the premises. We have staked out all the exits. We will hold this man to account. He cannot hide from us forever.”

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It is unclear whether Manchin remains surrounded by the activists and a spokesperson for Manchin didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Over the past week, Climate Defiance has publicly called for volunteers to join its protest to “shut down” Manchin’s event in New Hampshire. The group said it sought to disrupt the event over Manchin’s longstanding support for fossil fuels, pointing to his actions pushing the Mountain Valley Pipeline natural gas project and personally owning a coal company.

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“There is no community this man will not destroy to enrich himself. No person he will not condemn to a fiery death to help his fossil fuel cronies,” the group said in a posting earlier this month. “He is committing horrific crimes every single day, and we will resist him with all we’ve got. We will do so on January 12th, in New Hampshire. We ask you to join us there.”

The announcement that Climate Defiance would seek to protest Manchin’s event Friday in New Hampshire came shortly after the group was granted a White House meeting.

 Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on March 7, 2023. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

On Dec. 15, the group met privately with senior White House adviser John Podesta. Following the meeting, the group publicized a letter it handed Podesta.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today,” Climate Defiance wrote to Podesta. “We appreciate your willingness to heed our deeply-held concerns. Echoing the voices of millions of Americans, we write to you in the eleventh hour of the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced: planetary and societal collapse due to the continued burning of fossil fuels.”

“We urge you to wield your utmost authority to implement a swift end to any federal support for new fossil fuel infrastructure. Both the urgency of this action and the severe consequences of further delay cannot be overstated,” it continued. “Climate Defiance recognizes your commitment to climate action and commends you on your vital work developing and implementing the Inflation Reduction Act.”

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Meanwhile, last year, the group disrupted events where Podesta, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo were speaking.